Thai Vine Restaurant

L was heading back to Singapore with her hubby the next day so we wanted to catch up before she left. As I haven't been feeling too well the past few days due to the heat, L was real sweet to come all the way west today to lunch at Thai Vine, a Thai restaurant near my house.

When I stepped into the restaurant, I noted that the interior decor of the restaurant was very exquisite. Besides the wall paintings, the owner also decorated the place with numerous artefacts and drapes from Thailand. Aesthetically very pleasing to the eye.

Look at the effort of the owner in decorating the restaurant...

The wall painting...

The artefacts...

Guess what this is? A chopstick holder! Isn't it cute?

We ordered the Thai prawn cake and two salads (L and I are both salad lovers): glass noodle salad with prawns and minced meat as well as Thai green mango salad with prawns. The restaurant also gave us a sampler of two new dishes: minced duck meat with basil and pandan fried chicken. They tasted quite nice though I found the chicken a little too oily.

The sampler dishes

The prawn cake arrived hot from the kitchen. The exterior was real crispy while soft on the inside. Coupled with the orange flavoured sauce, it was rather well-done. The two salads turned out to be average, much to my disappointment. The sauces were not too good and tasted too sweet for my liking.

The prawn cake - almost finished before I remembered to take a pic!

The green mango salad

The glass noodle salad

Given the high price and average tasting food, I don't think I would go to Thai Vine anytime soon. The ambience of the place and service of the staff were excellent though.

Thai Vine
31A Xuan Dieu
Tay Ho, Hanoi
Tel: 04-7191448

Casual Dining at Al Fresco's (Hai Ba Trung)

Following from my earlier post on our trip to Cat Ba last month, we arrived in Hanoi at 6pm on Sunday (11 May) after a long car ride. M was rather sweet and suggested that we dine out so that I didn't have to cook (I prefer to eat at home because home cook food is healthier). I wasn't too hungry as we were both snacking away in the bus on our way back, so we decided to try Al Fresco's.

There is a branch along Xuan Dieu, where I stay but I was told that the food served at Al Fresco's (Hai Ba Trung) was much better. Well, I thought the decor and ambience was definitely better at Hai Ba Trung as it gave a much more cozy feeling.

The welcoming feel of casual dining...

The interior...

M ordered a cheezy spaghetti (I am not kidding.. the entire plate was covered with cheese) while I ordered a garlic bread to share and a portion of pygmy ribs. M liked his spaghetti a lot though I was turned off by the amount of cheeze in it. The garlic bread was nice but too oily. I enjoyed my ribs though. The meat was tender and soft.. and the sauce was yummy!

The french loaf in Hanoi is good...

Yummy yummy ribs...

Cheezy spaghetti!

Our meal there was quite satisfactory if not for the total lack of vegetables.. but it was still a good meal. :)

Al Fresco's
23L Hai Ba Trung
Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
Tel: 04-826 7782

Weekend Trip to Cat Ba Island (10-11 May 08)

M and I took a short break to Cat Ba Island last month. The trip was organised by a local travel agent as a "thank you" trip for its clients. Apparently, it is a fairly common practice in Vietnam. :) The turnout was quite huge and there were 3 bus-full loads of passengers.

To get to Cat Ba, we had to take a 3 hours bus ride from Hanoi to Hai Phong. From there, we took a hydrofoil (about 45 mins' ride) to Cat Ba. Throughout the rides, the travel agent staff was constantly making jokes and playing games to create a lively atmosphere. Although I couldn't understand what they were saying, I had fun watching them.

A street scene from Hai Phong

Presenting the hydrofoil!

Inside the hydrofoil

When we arrived at Cat Ba at 1pm, we were given a short tour around the island, followed by lunch. Cat Ba is famous for its nature reserve park which is huge and well preserved. I had wanted to go there initially but Cu shared that it was too far and I would not have enough time to complete my walk. Sigh. That was a real disappointment for me.

The resort where we stayed in was very nice by the local standard. It had a pretty seaview where we could see huge limestone rocks emerging, coupled with two small beaches. Along the side of the beach, there were small hills where one could take a slow stroll up to enjoy the scenery. I thought the beaches didn't look enticing but there were lots of locals frolicking in the waters.

The limestone rocks out of the sea

The resort where we stayed

Nice swimming pool and facilities

One of the two man-made beaches in front of the resort

The other beach, taken during our short hill expedition

At night, we were treated to a sit-down dinner as well as a really entertaining performance by the organisers. Kudos to them! I couldn't stop laughing throughout the night as one of the male staff gave a near perfect impersonation as a female star! There was also a fashion parade where the staff swayed down wearing quirky costumes representating famous street names in Hanoi.

The male star is the fourth "lady" from the left in green and white

The next morning, there were some beach activities organised where participants could have fun and win small prizes. M and I opted out of the games as we did not understand what they were saying at all. Instead, we took a break and played pool, chess and surfed the internet. By 1pm, we were required to check out of the resort and make our way back. It was really quite an interesting experience for me.

We reached Hanoi at close to 6pm in the evening and decided to head off to Al Fresco's for dinner. Will share more on the food there in my next entry as this is to remain purely a "trip" report. :)

Counting my Blessings

Many thanks to all my friends who prayed for my dad upon reading my previous post. I am really thankful for your concern and well-wishes.

My dad went for his medical review yesterday (after one month of treatment) and we were all elated when the doctor shared that he was responding well to the treatment. While his cancer cannot be eradicated as it has spreaded to his bones, we hope that his condition can be kept under control for as long as possible.

We had a "mini-celebration" during lunch and it was probably the first hearty meal my parents had since my dad was diagnosed with cancer. Many relatives called to ask about the results of my dad's review. I was very touched when Aunt C came all the way down from her office to lend my dad her support.

Now, I am learning to count my blessings every day. Every moment with my parents becomes extremely precious as I am not sure how much time I have with them. But I am thankful that I am given a chance to relish all moments while I can. This, perhaps, is a form of blessing too.